nonstop (merthur AU)

thirteen

'pendragon, ambrosius!' the teacher called when the two finally walked into class 'do you have a late slip?'

merlin froze and looked at arthur in panic

'no but my fathe-' arthur protested

'detention' the teacher exclaimed and turned back to the board with a flourish

the class murmured and jeered as the embarrassed boy's took their seats.

arthur headed towards his friends in the back while merlin searched for somewhere to sit

'sit down ambrosius' the teacher sighed

merlin started to panic slightly, searching for somewhere to sit. he was more than aware of how small the problem was but he always acted up when people were looking at him

'there's a seat next to percival, just sit down!'

percival smiled sickeningly sweetly at him, patting the seat next to him

'hey buddy!' he whispered 'you missed our little meeting this morning, we'll have to catch it up'

merlin locked his eyes on the table as percival leant in closer

'also i didn't like the way you left when i was talking yesterday'

'percival, cmon leave him alone' arthur hissed

percival rolled his eyes and turned to face the boy

'you're no fun!' percival groaned 'why are you protecting him?'

'he's my friend' arthur said with a shrug, as if it were the most casual thing in the world

merlins heart stopped momentarily and he inhaled too quickly, choking on his own breath

'what?' he spluttered

'you heard me' arthur said 'you're my friend'

'really?' merlin questioned, waiting for him to announce that this was a joke or something

arthur nodded his head, looking mildly confused. merlin looked back to percival to see him looking surprisingly neutral

'well if you're arthur's friend i guess you're my friend as well' he shrugged

merlin narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, he didn't trust percival in any sense. he knew nothing good would come out of this

'so will you guys be coming to the party this weekend?' percival continued

arthur looked up at merlin who was furiously shaking his head

'yeah, definitely' arthur smiled

merlin crashed his head onto the desk and groaned